Publications

Michigan’s Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) is a state-funded pre-K program that serves at risk four-year-old children across the state. Utilizing longitudinal data from 1,394 children in a mid-sized urban school district, we conducted regression analyses and piecewise linear growth models to examine the growth trajectory between GSRP children and non-GSRP children at each grade level from kindergarten to third grade in both reading and math. The results of regression analyses showed that, after accounting for other variables, participation in GSRP was statistically significantly associated with higher scores on Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) measures at various time points, ranging from 0.22-0.46 standard deviations (SD) in math and 0.31-0.49 SD in reading. The results of piecewise linear growth models illustrated that GSRP children had a statistically significantly faster monthly growth rate than non-GSRP children during the kindergarten year. However, the growth rates were not significantly different during the first, second, and third grade.   

Despite the appeal of promoting and forming collaborative relationships between schools, empirical evidence for an association between school-to-school collaboration and school outcomes is still somewhat lacking. This study utilized data from 76 schools nested within 56 districts in the United States to examine the association between a school's reciprocal relationships and school outcomes by employing social network analysis and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). After controlling for school and district demographic characteristics, we found the indices of reciprocal collaboration are associated with the school's 2018 student proficiency level in both math and reading and the growth in proficiency level between 2017 and 2018. The implications and limitations were discussed.

Teacher leadership has been found to be positively associated with student achievement, and the dimensions of teacher leadership positively associated with teacher leadership have been identified. However, mechanisms to improve teacher leadership and the effects of these mechanisms are rarely studied. In this article, we report the efforts to develop teacher leadership in a multi-year, large-scale project titled, “HighImpact Leadership for School Renewal”, and the effects of these efforts. Repeated measure analysis was conducted to assess the project’s effect on teacher leadership using validated and published instruments. The results indicated that the project had large effects on enhancing teacher leadership, with Cohen’s d effect size ranging from 0.85 to 1.16 for scales of Orientation to School Renewal and from 0.87 to 1.13 for scales of Learning-Centered School Leadership. Implications for school renewal are discussed.

A multivariate random-effects meta-meta-analysis was conducted to synthesize the association between principal leadership and student achievement. A total of 12 prior meta-analyses with 18 effect sizes were included in this meta-meta-analysis. The quantitative analysis showed that principal leadership has a statistically significant positive relationship with student achievement (Cohen's d = 0.34). The qualitative analyses revealed that: (a) with the accumulation of knowledge, there appears to have been a trend toward more consistent and precise estimates of principal leadership's effect on student achievement; (b) there was still not enough evidence to argue a specific leadership model or practice is more effective in improving student achievement than others; and (c) the educational contexts seem to moderate the effect of principal leadership. The significance and limitations of the current study, as well as the recommendations for future research, are discussed.

Teacher leadership is commonly discussed in educational research and practice. Yet, the relationship between teacher leadership and student achievement has not been soundly established by empirical evidence. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine the extent to which teacher leadership was related to students’ academic achievement. The results revealed that teacher leadership was positively related to student achievement (r = .19). Among seven dimensions of teacher leadership which were all positively associated with student achievement, facilitating improvements in curriculum, instruction, and assessment has shown strongest relationship. The results of subgroup analysis indicated the relationships were similar among studies conceptualizing teacher leadership and using outcome measures differently, and for elementary and secondary school students. However, published studies reported larger effect sizes than unpublished studies. The implications and limitations are discussed.

Using a multilevel multiset time-series model, the present study aimed to examine whether changes in teacher perceived principal leadership practices were associated with the change in school academic performance. Teacher perceived principal leadership practices tapped into various aspects of school process and principal leadership. School academic performance was measured as a school’s average in reading and mathematics at a certain grade level (Grades 5–8) in a certain calendar year (2013–2017). Change in teachers’ perceptions regarding principals’ efforts to improve parent involvement was identified as the single most important teacher perceived principal leadership practice for growth in both school reading and school mathematics performance across grade levels (moderate effect size of .481 in reading and small effect size of .254 in mathematics). Implications were discussed, including the hypothesis of “growth” factors in principal leadership practice.

For this paper, we developed and validated the Orientation to School Renewal instrument,a 21-item instrument, based on seven factors, which allows schools to measure their school renewal efforts. The research is based on Goodlad’s notion of school renewal. Through an extensive literature review and our work over an eight-year period engaged in discussions with over 110 principals and 300 teachers, we gradually developed dimensions of the construct of school renewal. We then obtained survey data from a sample of 1,195 teachers in 83 schools, and validated the instrument using confirmatory factor analysis and other procedures. The seven factors identified from the literature and discussions with K-12 educators and confirmed via the validation process included: (a) focus on students and their achievements, (b) continuous school improvement, (c) balance between the internal and external influences, (d) the dialogue, decision, action and evaluation (DDAE) process, (e) implementation integrity, (f) implementers as active developers, and (g) internal responsibility and professionalism. Researchers and practitioners can use the instrument to collect valid and reliable data to measure, evaluate, and understand school renewal.

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of school background and school process in closing achievement gaps between White and non-White students in science. To answer the research questions, a series of two-level hierarchical linear models (HLM) was performed on the fourth-grade U.S. portion of the 2015 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) data. Results indicate that (a) the science achievement gap between White and non-White students is 0.21 standard deviation, holding student and school background constant; (b) the science achievement gap varies across schools; (c) none of the school background variables are associated with the achievement gap in a school; and (d) school emphasis on student academic learning is not only associated with higher school-level science achievement, but also with a narrower science achievement gap between White and non-White students. However, teacher collaboration is not associated with school-level science achievement but is associated with a larger achievement gap. Implications, limitations, and recommendations for further research are discussed.